When doing long exposure photography of the night sky, stars are often
referenced as moving across the sky. They appear to circle around the
celestial poles of the Earth (Fig. 3a). In order to counteract this apparent
movement, the Star Adventurer GTi can be set to compensate for this
movement, by rotating the camera in the direction opposite to that of the
Earth. The result is, the celestial objects appearing in the field of view of your
camera do not move allowing for a picture with a long exposure time to be
possible (Fig. 3b). In order to achieve this, a polar alignment (PA) of the Star
Adventurer GTi is required.
The Star Adventurer GTi comes equipped with a polar scope located along
the polar axis of the mount and is embedded into the system. To view through
the polar scope, remove the protective cover from the back of the mount by
pinching down the tabs on the side of the casing (Fig. 3c). The polar scope
also has an illumination reticle for ease of use.
For observing in the Northern Hemisphere:
find Polaris (the brightest star
near the North Celestial Pole) in the polar scope by adjusting the angle of
the equatorial wedge. Use the SynScan Pro App to find the corresponding
orientation of Polaris in the polar scope by simply entering the date,
time, longitude and latitude of your observing location. The polar scope
utility can be found under “Utility” and then “Advanced”. Move Polaris to
that corresponding position in the polar scope by using the fine-tuning
movements of the equatorial wedge (Fig. 3d). If you cannot acquire the
application tool to find the orientation of Polaris, refer to the “The Orientation
of Polaris in Polar Scope” in the following portion.
For observing in the Southern Hemisphere:
locate in the polar scope the
four dim stars (around Magnitude 5 to 6) which form the pattern “Octans”
(see drawing in the polar scope as Fig. 3e). Align the orientation of the
“Octans” drawing to the four stars. Then move the four stars to the four small
circles of the “Octans” drawing by using the horizontal adjustment knob to
fine-tune the equatorial wedge or by moving the tilt-head of your tripod.
POLAR ALIGNING THE STAR ADVENTURER GTi
Fig. 3a
Fig. 3b
Fig. 3c
2020
2028
2032
2024
2016
2012
3
3
9
0
6
NCP
SCP
2020
2028
2032
2024
2016
2012
3
3
9
0
6
NCP
SCP
Fig. 3d - Northern Hemisphere
Fig. 3e - Southern Hemisphere
Octans
- Star asterism located
in the southern hemisphere
Polaris
- Star located in the
northern hemisphere
Polar scope
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